Lists of 12

The Twelve Tribes of Israel
The Twelve Minor Prophets
The Twelve Apostles

The Twelve Tribes of Israel

Tribe	Hebrew	Transliteration
Reuben	רְאוּבֵן	Reuven
Simeon	שִׁמְעוֹן	Shimon
Levi	לֵּוִ	Levi
Judah	יְהוּדָה	Yehuda
Dan	דָּן	Dan
Naphtali	נַפְתָּלִי	Naftali
Gad	גָּד	Gad
Asher	אָשֵׁר	Asher
Zebulon	זְבוּלֻן	Zevulon
Issachar	יִשָּׂשׁכָר	Issachar
Joseph	יוֹסֵף	Yosef
Manasseh	מְנַשֶּׁה	Manasseh
Ephraim	אֶפְרַיִם / אֶפְרָיִם	Efraim
Benjamin	בִּנְיָמִין	Binyamin

The twelve tribes are named for the twelve sons of Jacob:

The sons of Leah (לֵאָה): Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun
The sons of Rachel (רָחֵל): Joseph and Benjamin
The sons of Bilhah (בִּלְהָה), Rachel’s maid: Dan and Naphtali
The sons of Zilpah (זִלְפָּה), Leah’s maid: Gad and Asher

See Genesis 35:22-26.

Order of the tribes in the wilderness (see Numbers 2).

First: Judah, Issachar, Zebulon [East]
Second: Reuben, Simeon, Gad [South]
Middle: Levites with the ark and tabernacle [Center]
Third: Ephraim, Manasseh, Benjamin [West]
Fourth: Dan, Asher, Naphtali [North]

The directions in [brackets] indicate on which side of the tabernacle the tribes camped. The Levites camped around the tabernacle (Numbers 3) in this arrangement:

East: Moses and the priests (Aaron and his family)
West: Gershonites
South: Kohathites
North: Merarites

Area of Settlement

Northern Kingdom (Israel)

North
- Asher
- Naphtali
- Zebulon
- Issachar
- Dan (after migration: see Judges 18)
Center
- Ephraim
- Benjamin (part)
- Manasseh (Eastern half)
- Dan (before migration)
East of Jordan
- Gad
- Reuben
- Manasseh (Western half)

Southern Kingdom (Judah)

- Judah
- Simeon (absorbed by Judah)

The Twelve Minor Prophets

They are called “minor” not because they are unimportant, but because their books are shorter than the “major” prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, and sometimes Daniel.

Name	Hebrew	Transliteration	LXX order	Latin Name	Century
Hosea	הוֹשֵׁעַ	Hoshea	1	Osee	8th C BC
Joel	יואל	Yoel	4	Joel	(disputed)
Amos	עָמוֹס	Amos	2	Amos	8th C BC
Obadiah	עבדיה	Ovadyah	5	Abdias	(disputed)
Jonah	יוֹנָה	Yonah	6	Jonas	(disputed)
Micah	מִיכָה	Mikhah	3	Micheas	8th C BC
Nahum	נַחוּם	Nachum	7	Nahum	7th C BC
Habakkuk	חֲבַקּוּק	Havaqquq	8	Habacuc	7th C BC
Zephaniah	צפניה	Tsefanyah	9	Sophanias	7th C BC
Haggai	חַגַּי	Haggai	10	Aggeus	6th C BC
Zechariah	זְכַרְיָה	Zecharyah	11	Zacharias	6th C BC
Malachi	מַלְאָכִי	Malakhi	12	Malachias	5th C BC

8th century BC : before the fall of the Northern Kingdom, c. 722 BC
7th century BC : before the fall of the Southern Kingdom, c. 586 BC
6th & 5th century BC : after return from exile, c. 538 BC

The Twelve Apostles

The twelve disciples of our Lord Jesus, whom he also named apostles: See Luke 6:12-16.

Simon Peter (Σίμων οὖν Πέτρος)
Andrew (Ἀνδρέας)
James (Ἰάκωβος)
John (Ἰωάννης)
Philip (Φίλιππος)
Bartholomew (Βαρθολομαῖος) (Nathaniel : Ναθαναὴλ)
Matthew (Μαθθαῖος) (Levi : Λευί)
Thomas (Θωμᾶς)
James son of Alphaeus (Ἰάκωβος Ἁλφαίου)
Simon called Zelotes (Σίμωνα τὸν καλούμενον Ζηλωτὴν)
Thaddaeus (Θαδδαῖος) (Jude; Judas son of James; Lebbaeus : Λεββαῖος) (Ἰούδαν Ἰακώβου)
Judas Iscariot (Ἰούδας Ἰσκαριὼθ)

Note 1: The apostles are listed in Matthew 10:1-4, Mark 3:13-18, and Luke 6:12-15.

Note 2: Acts 1:15-25 tells how, after Judas Iscariot had committed suicide and our Lord had ascended into heaven, Matthias (Μαθθίας) was chosen to replace Judas, “and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.”